Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Hope Ashiabor
Contact via busl320@mq.edu.au
E4A 311
Thursdays, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
BUSL301 or 12cp in LAW units at 200 level
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit provides an introduction to the tax framework operating in Australia. It looks at the regulatory environment and the impact of the conceptual framework on key areas of taxation including: income tax; goods and services tax; and fringe benefits tax. This unit enhances the ability of students to recognise, describe and analyse taxation issues and concepts to problems encountered in a contemporary setting.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Assessed coursework | 10% | Weekly |
Online Quiz | 10% | End of Week 3 |
Class Test | 25% | Week 7 |
Final Examination | 55% | University Examination Period |
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 10%
Description: The Assessed Coursework is comprised of two components: weekly hand-written submissions to individual tutorial questions and presentations during tutorials.
Submission: Written responses to tutorial questions will be collected in class weekly prior to the commencement of the tutorial. No extensions will be granted. Students who do not submit their written responses prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of zero for the task, except for cases in which an application for disruption to studies is made and approved.
Your best 10 (out of 12) written submissions will be taken into account, and will be weighted at 1/2 mark for each submitted task. (Total, 5%).
The remaining 5% will be allocated for satisfactory presentations/group work. A Presentation Feedback form will be used in awarding marks to each component of the presentations/group work.
Important Note: Students enrolled in the i-Lecture stream are expected to attend weekly tutorials and to participate in completing the "Assessed Coursework" components of this unit.
Due: End of Week 3
Weighting: 10%
Description: The online quiz covers material taught in Lectures 1 and 2.
Submission: Due online end of Week 3. To be completed via iLearn.
Extension: No extensions will be granted.
Penalties: Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of '0' for the task, except for cases in which an application for disruption to studies is made and approved.
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 25%
Description: This is an in-class assessment task that is made up of questions requiring short answers. It assesses material taught in Lectures 1-6.
Submission: Answer scripts will be collected in the Lecture Theatre at the end of the test.
Note: Students enrolled in the i-Lecture stream of this unit are expected to turn up to the Lecture Theatre, to sit for the Class Test on the day it is scheduled.
Penalties: Students who are unable to sit for the class test will be awarded a mark of '0' for the task, except for cases in which an application for disruption to studies is made and approved.
Due: University Examination Period
Weighting: 55%
Description: This assessment task is comprised of multiple choice and case study/essay type questions.
Submission: Formal Examination Conditions Apply
You must pass the final exam to pass BUSL320
Supplementary Examinations:
Where a supplementary examination is granted as a result of the Disruption to studies process, the examination will be scheduled as per the Supplementary Examination timetable of the Faculty. Please note that the supplementary examination will be of a similar format to the final examination.
The main means of presentation is by way of 13 two-hour lectures and 12 weekly tutorials of one hour duration. Lectures cover the basic material as outlined in the listed topics, as well as noting where each topic fits into the overall framework of the tax regime.
Each week’s lecture outlines (PowerPoint slides) will be posted on i-Learn prior to the formal lecture. They are not intended to be a substitute for lecture attendance. They cannot be relied upon to the exclusion of the allocated reading tasks for each week. You are expected to prepare your own notes from the prescribed reading set out in this unit's Assessment Guide to supplement the material set out in the lecture outlines.
The Lectures will also be recorded on Echo 360 on a weekly basis.
The tutorial questions for each week's class are to be found in the unit's Tutorial Guide. The tutorial questions have been designed to provide a practical application of the principles discussed in lectures. Tutorials will involve an analysis and discussion of preset questions based on the previous week’s lecture. They therefore complement and consolidate the topics covered in lectures. It is essential that adequate preparation be undertaken BEFORE each tutorial in order for the full benefit to be gained.
Students - (including those enrolled in the i-Lecture stream) - will also be expected to participate in tutorials through the submission of hand-written responses (to the questions in Tutorials 2 - 13), contributing to class discussions, formal presentations during tutorials, and showing an interest in other learning activities conducted by the tutor.
Note: Students enrolled in the i-Lecture stream of this unit are expected to turn up to the Lecture Theatre, to sit for the Class Test on the day it is scheduled.
Students are expected to spend 150 hours working on this unit. As a guide, students should spend these approximate amounts of time in each of the following activities:
Activities | Hours | |
1 | Weekly Lectures/Tutorials | 39 |
2 | Assessed Coursework | 12 |
3 | Online Quiz | 5 |
4 | Class Test | 10 |
5 | Final Examination | 34 |
6 | Readings/Self-study | 50 |
TOTAL | 150 |
There are a number of general texts covering the content of this unit. Students are advised to acquire each of the texts appearing under the heading "PRESCRIBED TEXTS".
1. PRESCRIBED TEXTS (Students should have access to these books AT ALL TIMES).
2. RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS
The acquisitions of the following are OPTIONAL. Students should consult the lecturer before making a purchase from books in this category.
Any of the following books may also be of use:
Note: It is pointless having an out of date edition of the textbook.
3. REFERENCE MATERIALS
While references to the prescribed weekly readings for this Unit are set from standard textbooks on taxation, references will also be made during the lectures to reported cases, rulings and other pronouncements issued by the Australian Taxation Office.
(a) Commentaries: Both CCH and Thomson Reuters provide an on-line service covering a commentary on the relevant legislation, rulings and reports and other pronouncements of the Australian Taxation Office. These on-line tax services are also available in multi-volume loose-leaf formats.
The on-line service of CCH can be accessed from the University Library’s database.
(b) Useful Internet sites: Internet resources are a very valuable source of information relating to current developments on taxation issues. Some useful sites include:
(i) ATO website: The Australian Taxation Office Internet site www.ato.gov.au . This site offers access to:
(ii) Access to other internet sites which are relevant to tax issues can be located at:
(iii) Cases, rulings, and legislation can also be accessed from the following sites:
(c) Professional Reference Texts
(d) Journals
Articles in legal and accounting journals are invaluable aids in keeping up to date with developments in tax law and practice.These include:
(e) Update on Tax Developments
For a weekly update on tax developments, students are advised to consult either CCH Tax Week or the Thomson Reuters Weekly Tax Bulletin; the former can be accessed from the University Library’s database.
Students will need access to the internet as lecture handouts and notices will be available from the unit’s web page.
Unit Web Page
The BUSL320 homepage is at: ilearn.mq.edu.au.
You can directly access the Unit Guide, the Assessment and Tutorial Guides, the current lecture outlines, Echo 360 recordings, announcements related to the unit, library and other useful websites via the BUSL320’s i-Learn site.
Week | Topic |
1 | Operating Framework of the Australian Tax System:
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2 |
The concept of income:
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3 | The Income Concept: Incidental Issues
Online Quiz - due end of Week 3. |
4 | Assessable Income:
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5 | Assessable Income:
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6 | Statutory Income:
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Mid-Session Break | |
7 | Allowable Deductions I
Important Notice: The class test will be conducted in class in the first hour of the week 7 Lecture (20 April and 23 April). There will be an overview lecture covering the salient points of this week's topic conducted in the second hour. An audio recording of the full 2-hour lecture on the topic will be posted on iLecture |
8 | Allowable Deductions II
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9 | Goods and Services Tax |
10 | Taxation of Partnerships, Trust Estates and Beneficiaries; minors |
11 | Companies:
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12 | Fringe Benefits Tax
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13 | Anti-Avoidance Legislation
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FINAL EXAMINATION PERIOD: 9 June - 26 June 2015. | |
SUPPLEMENTARY EXAM PERIOD: Mid-Late July 2015 (TBC) |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
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When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
An indicative outline of the estimated breakdown of workloads in this unit has been included for this Session's offering.
This unit addresses global and sustainability issues as direct areas of study and as necessary implications arising from the materials, assessment and academic discussion and debate in classes/seminars. We promote sustainability by developing ability in students to research and locate information within the accounting and legal disciplines. We aim to provide students with an opportunity to obtain skills which will benefit them throughout their career.
The unit materials have a reference list at the end of each chapter/module/text containing all references cited by the author. These provide some guidance to references that could be used to research particular issues.